The world remembers MLK on the 50th anniversary of his assassination

RACISM | On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. His death caused uprisings across the country that led to the destruction of Black neighborhoods, including DC’s own U Street. On this anniversary we remember what he fought for and against, and the fact that we’re still fighting 50 years later. (NYT, 4/4)

We see him standing before hundreds of thousands of followers in the nation’s capital in 1963, proclaiming his dream for racial harmony. We see him marching, arms locked with fellow protesters, through the battleground of Alabama in 1965.

But on the 50th anniversary of his death, it is worth noting how his message and his priorities had evolved by the time he was shot on that balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis in 1968. Dr. King was confronting many challenges that remain with us today.

– A count of the number of people who enrolled in the Affordable Care Act marketplace in 2018 found a small decrease: about 400,000 fewer people than last year. (NYT, 4/3)

EDUCATION | Last week, Howard University students began occupying an administrative building to demand reforms, including the resignation of the school’s president. This week faculty members will participate in a “no confidence” vote targeted at the school’s president. (WaPo, 4/3)